Algorithm version and training

You can use the Algorithm version setting to choose which AI assistant builder algorithm is used for training. Your assistant is trained when you update the content or settings, or through automatic retraining.

There are three choices:

  • Beta: Use Beta to preview and test what is coming. The capability in the beta version is likely to become a supported version later on. It's not recommended to use the beta version in a production deployment.
  • Latest: The current supported version that's recommended for your live production assistant.
  • Previous: The last supported before the latest version. Support for this version ends when the next version is released.

To choose an algorithm version for actions:

  1. On the Actions page, click Global settings Gear icon.

  2. Click the Algorithm Version tab.

  3. Choose a version, then click Save.

Algorithm version choices are currently available for Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. The universal language model uses a default algorithm.

Automatic retraining

AI assistant builder is based on the IBM watsonx Assistant technology, and many of the features that are available in IBM watsonx Assistant are also supported in AI assistant builder.

IBM watsonx Assistant was released as a service in July 2016. Since then, users have been creating and updating skills to meet their virtual assistant needs. Behind the scenes, AI assistant builder creates machine learning (ML) models to perform various tasks on the user's behalf.

The primary ML models deal with action recognition, intent classification, and entity detection. For example, the model might detect what a customer intends when they say I want to open a checking account, and what type of account the customer is talking about.

These ML models rely on a sophisticated infrastructure. There are many intricate components that are responsible for analyzing what the user says, breaking down the user's input, and processing it so the ML model can more easily predict what the user is asking.

Since AI assistant builder was first released, the product team has made continuous updates to the algorithms that generate these sophisticated ML models. Older models continued to function while running in the context of newer algorithms. Historically, the behavior of these existing ML models did not change unless the skill was updated, at which point the skill was retrained and a new model that is generated to replace the older one. This meant that many older models never benefited from improvements in our ML algorithms.

AI assistant builder uses continuous retraining. The AI assistant builder service continually monitors all ML models, and automatically retrains those models that have not been retrained in the previous 6 months. Your assistant retrains by using the selected algorithm version. If the version you selected is no longer supported, AI assistant builder retrains by using the version that is labeled as Previous. This means that your assistant automatically has the supported technologies that are applied. Assistants that were modified during the previous 6 months are not affected.

Usually, this retraining is seamless from a customer point of view. The same inputs result in the same actions, intents, and entities being detected. Sometimes, the retraining might cause changes in accuracy.